Upon the death of Count Palatine Herman II of Lotharingia in 1085, Emperor Henry IV assigned his fief between the Dender and Zenne rivers as the Landgraviate of Brabant to Count Henry III of Leuven and Brussels.
The county was quite small; it was limited to the territory between the rivers Dender and Zenne, situated to the west of Brussels.
Zenne |
The rivers Zenne coming from Brussels, Dyle coming from Louvain, Nete coming from Lier and the channel Louvain-Dyle all come together north of Heindonk, forming the river Rupel.